Costa Rica coach: whoever score first could win the match

RECIFE, Brazil, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Costa Rica's coach Jorge Luis Pinto believes the last 16 duel against Greece would be tough for both sides and whoever manage to score first will be very likely to win the match.

"We will continue doing what we have been doing against other opponents. We defended well against Italy and we are going to defend well (against Greece). It is our technique that we try not to lag behind in matches. We know that whoever score may go on to win," said Pinto during a pre-match new conference here on Saturday.

The Costa Rican team, knowing as "Les Ticos", have been enjoying a wonderful campaign so far in Brazil as the 61-year-old Colombian coach guided the team to finish on top of the "group of death" which also included former Cup winners England, Italy and Uruguay.

Facing Greece in the first round of the knockout stage, Costa Rica have been favored to win. But Pinto refused to under-estimated his opponents.

"Greece is definitely a very difficult team to play. Greece did well in the group stage and we will give Greece all the respect they deserve. It is a team that can indeed defend themselves well and score goals. It is difficult to control them," he said.

"The team know how to defend well and it is a team based on counterattacks. They have experienced players some of them play in big European clubs. Perhaps they did not so well in matches against Colombia and Japan. But they beat Cote d'Ivorie which is also a great team, in the last match."

Greece finished second in Group C after losing 3-0 to Colombia, tying 0-0 to Japan with one man reduced and beating "the Elephants" 2-1 thanks to a last-minute penalty from striker Giorgios Samaras.

"They are very mobile so we must be very careful because they can score a goal in any time," Pinto further explained.

"I think they have a good and solid structure. They are aggressive and it is a team with great technique capacity. Greece can play very complex counter-attacks and this is what we have to control. I guess controlling the space will be decisive," said Pinto, who also admitted that his team would be working on penalty before Sunday's match.